Summary
The article by Yehuda talks about the influence music has on human beings. Indeed it touches on the origin of music and explains how even our fore fathers understood the intriguing power that music possed in relation to our everyday lives. Examples are given of personal life experiences like that of William Styron who wished to commit suicide but was withheld by music from a movie he was watching after listening to the content (message). According to Yehuda (2011) it is very natural for human beings to identify with music just like a baby identifies with certain sounds. From the article, it is very evident that music plays a significant role in relieving stress. It is also clear that different levels of stress have their own remedies that can be found in music. It is this language of music that seems to speak louder than words that is responsible for stress management in adults.
Why I Chose This Topic
First of all, it is important to realize that stress is something that adults can barely avoid and have instead, to live with. To this effect, one as an adult should be able to realize essential ways of controlling and managing stress and depression as this will help them better discharge their responsibilities, not to mention, have better and healthy lives. Music is something that, even from the article, has its roots from when one is an infant. It is easy to identify certain sounds when one is a child, and apply them for communication purposes with the care giver or the parent. This shows that music has its own language that according to Yehuda (2011), “speaks louder than words”. Convincing a person verbally can be very frustrating especially if they are depressed as William Styron was. Indeed, the only thing that actually communicated effectively to Styron when he was contemplating suicide was music. In my opinion, music and its relation to stress is precisely that (communicating with the inner mind of the depressed individual to ensure the modulation of stress).
Why I Chose the Article
The article is very much detailed with information on how music alters a person’s emotional state, be it that of anger, fear or resentment. The example given of William Styron and his contemplation of suicide is very descriptive of just how much power music possesses. The author of the article himself discloses signs of being a musician and it is very much obvious that he understands perfectly the origin of music given the facts he displays. I needed to realize why many people suffer from stress and depression to the extent that they take away their own lives and I got a perfect depiction of a true story in this article. The integration of music and humanity is also another thing that made the article stand out among the many that spoke of the same topic.
Would I Consider Using This Article For My Research Paper?
I would most definitely agree to incorporate this article in my research paper especially if I am dealing with the topic of music and stress in adulthood. I would be influenced to use this article partly because of the fact that it is very explanatory of the challenges that face adults that can lead to stress levels hitting the roof and desperate actions to be taken by such individuals. Incorporating information from this article will help the reader better understand that stress though unavoidable, can actually be managed effectively just by listening to music. The example of William Styron which is a true life experience will also add weight to this opinion.
REFERENCES
Yehuda, N. (2011). Music and Stress. Journal of Adult Development. Retrieved on 17th June
2011, from http://www.springerlink.com/content/d426753241782n42/
